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Kevin Pietersen 'incredibly overwhelmed' by support after England cricket sacking

Updated
Wed 5 Feb 2014, 10:48 PM AEDT

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Sad to go ... Kevin Pietersen's international cricket career with England is over.

Michael Steele: Getty Images

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen expressed sadness over the end of his international career on Wednesday and said that he was "incredibly overwhelmed" by the support he had received.

The 33-year-old's days as an international cricketer came to an end on Wednesday morning when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that it had "unanimously" decided to move forward without him.

With England due to name its squads for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies and the World Twenty20 on Thursday, the ECB's new managing director, Paul Downton, elected to make a decisive call on Pietersen's future.

Pietersen posted a picture on photo-sharing website Instagram of himself leaving the field after his final Test match against Australia in Sydney during England's recent 5-0 Ashes defeat.

I love England and I honestly hope they have every success in the future.

Kevin Pietersen

He wrote: "So sad that this will now be the last time I leave a field in an England shirt.

"Incredibly overwhelmed by the support overnight! Thank you so much. I love England and I honestly hope they have every success in the future."

Meanwhile, Pietersen's wife, British pop star Jessica Taylor, took to Twitter to criticise former England bowler Dominic Cork for claiming that Pietersen had clashed with captain Alastair Cook during the Australia tour.

Dominic Cork - there was no 'squaring up' to Alastair Cook or 'off-field antics' in Australia - you are lying,plain & simple.

With 13,797 runs to his name, Pietersen bows out as England's all-time leading scorer across all formats of the game.

However, his outspoken personality and on-pitch single-mindedness made him a polarising figure, with former England players divided in their reactions to the news of his axing.

Former captain Michael Vaughan wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Pietersen's sacking was "preposterous", but former fast bowler Bob Willis said that he had "disrupted every single dressing room he's been in".

While former team-mate Matthew Hoggard accepted that Pietersen was not the most popular member of the England camp, he felt that a way to harness his flamboyant talents should have been found.

When it was put to him that Pietersen had no friends within the England squad, Hoggard told BBC Radio 5 Live on Wednesday: "I'm sure that's not the case. I'm sure there's one or two.

"But they're team-mates; you don't have to be friends to play cricket together."

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Pietersen said that the end of his England career was something that he would "deeply regret", but vowed that he would continue to play domestic cricket.

Pietersen's exit is the latest chapter in the damaging fall-out from the Australia tour for England, after head coach Andy Flower resigned, spinner Graeme Swann retired, and batsman Jonathan Trott had to leave the squad with a stress-related illness.